P.O. Box 66, Yarmouth Port, MA 02675
Saturday and Sunday, December 12 & 13, 2009
10 AM – 4 PM, Rain, snow or shine
For an olde fashioned holiday experience, visit Taylor-Bray Farm. The barn will be filled with the
aroma of fresh baked goods and fresh holiday greens. There will be wreaths, swags, centerpieces crafts, Bray Farm calendars and activity books.
There will also be complimentary
refreshments.
On the grounds you can purchase a Christmas tree, (many sizes to choose from). You may watch demos of hearth cooking, or take a tractor drawn hayride, weather permitting.
While at the farm, be sure to visit with all our animals.
We need volunteer bakers to contribute baked goods to the sale and people to help craft wreaths swags. Please contact Lynn McIntyre at 508-385-9407 or 508-737-0768 for details!
Removing the non-historic material will facilitate long-term restoration goals by exposing hidden structural conditions and thus provide the town with more clear knowledge of the scope & costs of the rehab work that lies ahead. The TBFPA effort also will save the town the cost of demolition work.
Below are a couple of pictures from our first week’s work to give you a sense of what is going on. Removal of the cabinets in the existing kitchen has already uncovered new details about the original house such as a small window that was part of the original half cape. A more exciting find was an original fireplace in the wall behind the kitchen stove. It is attached to the old back chimney and may be salvageable.†
In any event, the most important thing is that the long awaited rehabilitation process on the farmhouse has finally begun. There is still much work ahead, but a beginning is important and this beginning is providing us new details of a house once occupied by Captain Samuel Taylor who had a remarkable record of service in the Revolutionary War and subsequently embarked on a maritime career that saw him rise to the rank of sea captain.
There is a new article in the Register about the start of work on the farmhouse!
Read all about the work by Americorps at Americorps at Taylor Bray Farm
The new calendars are in and the first printing already sold out, but they can still be ordered by sending an email to CALENDARS
In other news at the farm, the Education Committee will start guided tours for students 3d grade and up beginning with the coming academic year. Please contact TBFPA to arrange a tour. The farm is always open for teachers to bring younger students for self guided tours.
Ongoing at the farm: Sunday is cleanup day. If you would like to help with the barn/pen cleanup and get to meet the animals up close, please just come to the farm at 11 am on any Sunday morning!
You can get a glimpse of the sheep festival at The Festival!
You can also check out the farm on Youtube at Cape Cast
TAYLOR-BRAY FARM PRESERVATION ASSOCIATION
P.O. Box 66, Yarmouth Port, MA 02675
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Donations and memberships in the Taylor-Bray Farm Preservation Association help to restore and maintain the buildings and grounds, and care for the animals at this unique historic site, preserving the legacy for present and future generations to enjoy.
A new article was recently published in Register
Come see how our cattle, Fiona and Scotty have grown!
To find out more about Scottish Highland Cattle, go to Scottish Highland Cattle
The Register also recently published an informative article about the Taylor Bray Farm.
About the farm
The Taylor-Bray Farm is situated on land in Yarmouth Port and was originally owned and settled by Richard Taylor in 1639. Through many generations, it remained in the Taylor family, until 1896 when George and William Bray, two brothers who had worked for the Taylors, acquired the land. It was sustained as a prosperous working farm by the Bray family until 1941. Between then and the late 1980's ownership changed hands a number of times.
Saved from Development
In 1987, the prospect of losing the farm to development prompted the Town of Yarmouth to purchase the property. The specific intent --"to maintain the farm for historic preservation and conservation". Tenant/managers have lived in the farmhouse, welcoming the public and educating many schoolgroups about the farm's history and ecologically rich natural beauty.
Critical Needs Today
Little preservation work has been done since 1987, and in the Fall of 2000 the late-eighteenth-century half cape farmhouse was declared uninhabitable. The Town of Yarmouth funded a new roof in May 2001, but extensive electrical, plumbing and heating, and foundation work is needed to further restore the house. Significant work is also necessary on the barn, and repair and upkeep required on the property.
About the association
In the Spring of 2001, a small group of farm neighbors formed the Taylor-Bray Farm Preservation Association. From this core group, we have grown to over 275 members from all sections of Yarmouth as well as other towns in Massachusetts and nine other states. We have established a strong partnership with the Yarmouth Historical Commission, the town's oversight body for the farm. The sheep pasture and pens have been re-fenced, all the aging barn doors have been replaced, landscape projects completed, and other improvement tasks implemented. In the summer of 2002, we began major repairs on the barn in partnership with the Yarmouth Historical Commission and Cape Cod Regional Technical High School that will include the replacement of the floors on the first and second levels, a complete electrical rewiring of the structure, and construction of an interior stairway, and installing new gutters.
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The mission of the TBFPA is compelling....join us, learn more and participate in the partnership to preserve this valuable historic site as a living legacy for the town of Yarmouth and all of Cape Cod.
Membership and volunteer support in the Association offers the opportunity to make a vital difference in preserving this farm's unique heritage. A printable membership form is available here .
